Pet Food Ingredients: Frozen Fish Products and Sustainability

When it comes to choosing a protein for sustainable pet foods, such as complete nutrition meals for cats and dogs, it pays to know your options. Sustainability is something that is relevant to many industries across the globe, but there are different types of sustainability that must be considered when determining how well a business is performing in this regard. There are a lot of criticisms of the petfood industry with complaints made by some that the increase in quality pet food ingredients could somehow have an adverse impact on the planet. However, the truth is that there are businesses within the industry that embrace sustainability in a couple of different ways. One way is through the production of frozen seafood products for manufacturers nationwide.

Buying Local for Pet Food Ingredients
One of the biggest complaints about the industry today is a number of fossil fuels that are used in the processing or production of goods. When it comes to the petfood industry, sourcing ingredients and processing them locally can help to reduce that type of carbon footprint. Finicky Pet Food, Inc. is located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, which has a history of being one of the most profitable and highest grossing fishing ports in the United States. As a result, Finicky Pet Food is able to receive the freshest fish possible from seafood houses along the port, and being able to process and freeze the fish on the same day that it arrives.

Suppliers of pet food ingredients, such as the frozen seafood products available through Finicky Pet Food, are not often considered to be an influence in the determination of sustainable pet foods, but they should. Getting ingredients for the petfood industry from a sustainable source that receives its fresh seafood directly from fishermen in the Port of New Bedford can severely reduce the carbon footprint associated with creating products that fit in with the agreed upon model of sustainability. It is beneficial for the companies that produce the petfood products and the consumers who purchase them for their pets.

What is Sustainability?
As previously mentioned, there are different types of sustainability when it is applied to the processing of petfood industry products and ingredients, as well as other related businesses. The dictionary definition of sustainability is described as meeting the “needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” While there are other definitions that many seem to fit even better, such as “ensuring a better quality of life for everyone,” the first definition is what applies most to the development of sustainable pet foods for the petfood industry.

Environmental Sustainability – most widely accepted method of proving sustainability, requires the measurement of various areas including the use of land, management of waste, emissions of greenhouse gasses, and bio-diversity; studies the impact of global warming, pollution, smog, etc.

Long-Term Profitability – measures the profit and success of business, including producers, manufacturers, and retailers, as well as the end cost to users

When it comes to measuring sustainability for pet food ingredients used in the petfood industry, all of the major areas that fall under “food systems,” must be measured to determine whether or not it helps to contribute to the production of sustainable pet foods. The methods used to prepare and process local fish in New Bedford, Massachusetts, into frozen seafood products, which are then utilized by a manufacturer to create pet food products, help to determine sustainability. Everything from how the company obtains the raw materials to the wholesaling, storage, and transportation of the pet food ingredients to clients within the petfood industry must be measured.

Contact Finicky Pet Food, Inc.
If you are interested in learning more about sustainability and the frozen seafood products that are processed by Finicky Pet Food, Inc. for the petfood industry, give us a call at 508-991-8448. Our sales team can answer any questions that you might have about the pet food ingredients that we produce and the methods used in processing. This knowledge will help you determine the value of creating sustainable pet foods for your customers. Call today to learn more about our products, methods, and mission.